


After the Blue

by rangshree



Category: All The Young Dudes - MsKingBean89, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: POV Teddy Lupin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-23 04:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30050049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangshree/pseuds/rangshree
Summary: During Easter Holidays, teddy Lupin meets Grant Champan and learns about his father. He and Harry go to the London Flat and find many pictures and items with a lot of emotional value to them. Teddy returns back to his last year at Hogwarts and spends most of his time with the new generation of Weasleys! Lastly, he comes across Mary Macdonald.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Teddy Lupin & Harry Potter, Teddy Lupin/Victoire Weasley
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	1. The Mysterious Man

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Out of the Blue](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16683955) by [MsKingBean89](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsKingBean89/pseuds/MsKingBean89). 



> This is a continuation/different POV of Out of the Blue by MsKingBean89! Go and read that if you already haven't! If you didn't read All the Young Dudes or Out of the Blue, you will still be able to understand most of the 'flashbacks' or things mentioned! Again this is Teddy Lupin figuring out things about his dad while attending his last year at Hogwarts with the Weasley cousins. 
> 
> (I also don't support JKR's disgusting views on the trans community)

April 2016, Potter Manor

"Anyone seen my Quidditch Kit?!" Ginny yelled from the top of the stairs, running in circles trying to find her Quidditch equipment for the past ten minutes.

"Honey, it's in our bedroom!" Harry called from the Kitchen. "James! NO! Give it back--." James was running past Harry into the sitting room with the Marauder's Map in his hands.

"PLEASE! My name is JAMES SIRIUS! I deserve this map. Plus, Teddy gave me permission to have it, right Teddy?" James looked at Teddy who was sitting on the sofa, sipping his tea, trying to have a peaceful Saturday morning.

"Hm, yeah you can have it." He replied dozing off, thinking about his past experience in Brighton. Harry continued to scold James for stealing the map, and Ginny was making her way out for Quidditch practice. “Bye, Take Care!” Lily and Albus were arguing upstairs because Lily's chocolate card collection had been transformed into regular muggle cards. Poor Albus was getting blamed when it was James' doing. Amongst all the commotion Teddy was distracted by the man who had called him "Remus." Teddy hadn't been able to get it out of his head in days, because how many other people were names "Remus", surely the man was referring to his father, Remus Lupin, Teddy thought.

"Oi! Teddy, you all right?” Harry asked settling himself on the other sofa with his tea after finally calming James down.

“Yeah, yeah. Actually, I wanted to tell you something, it’s silly though.”

Harry raised an eyebrow, “Try me.” He grinned. You could always count on Harry when you needed to talk about this sort of thing, after all, he had also lost both of his parents when he was a baby.

“Last week, when me and Victoire went to Brighton, we went to this muggle record shop. The man working there he-- he called me Remus.” Harry looked up from his tea, shocked.

“Blimey!”

“Yeah.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“No. No, he just said he mistook me for someone else.”

Harry nodded, it was obvious he was trying to understand something. “Teddy, I don’t if he was referring to your dad, but how many Remus’s are there?”

“Are you saying I should go back?” He obviously has thought about this multiple times in the past few days but couldn’t bring himself to actually do so. He didn’t know what to expect and what if he went back just to be disappointed.

“That decision is up to you, but it wouldn’t hurt to try, even if it was a simple misunderstand.” Harry gave a comforting smile and it spoke much more than he did, Teddy thought. Harry patted Teddy’s knees and got up, heading back to the Kitchen. “Albus! Lily! Come eat your breakfast!”

“COMING!” They yelled back from the second floor.

***

He stood in front of the mirror fixing his bright blue curly hair back. He was wearing black skinny jeans, torn at the knees, and a red checkered shirt. It was mid-day and he thought about what Harry said, and thought _what’s the point in waiting?_

“Are you going on a date with Victoire?” James apparently was watching him get ready, he was leaning against the door to Teddy’s room.

“Nope,” Teddy replied turning to find his phone hidden somewhere in the covers.

“Then why are you getting ready?”

“Why are you so nosy, James?” He asked lifting the duvet.

“See I’ve thought about it...and I think it’s in my blood.”

Teddy finally looked at James and gave a weird look. James continued blabbing, as he finally entered Teddy’s room.

“My name is _James Sirius_ so...”

“James, sorry to break it to you mate, but you can’t base your entire personality on someone you’ve never met.” Teddy lifted his pillows and threw them on the ground, shaking them as if his phone will magically drop out of them.

“Ew. Why do you have a picture of you and Victoire snogging?” James picked up the photo that was under Teddy’s pillow. It was a moving picture of Teddy and Victoire at the beach, last summer when all the older cousins went on a mini camping trip. On the back was written, _Get a Room! - taken by Dominique Weasley ;)_

“Accio photo!” The picture came flying from James’s hands into Teddy’s. James continued laughing maniacally as he made his way out of the room. “Accio phone!” Finally, his phone came flying from under the bed, and he caught it. He made his way for the front door.  
“You’re going right now?” Harry asked as Teddy was about to leave.

“Yeah! I think it’s better to get it over with than sit here all day just wondering the outcomes.”

“Alright, be safe. Let me know if anything goes wrong.”

Teddy smiled, “I think I might crash at Bill and Fleur’s place. I promised I’d see Victoire before the Easter holiday’s finish. So don’t wait up on me.”

He opened and shut the front door, and apparated straight to the small street in Brighton. A gust of wind pushed him, as he regained his balance. The waves of the ocean weren’t too far from here, and there it was, the Record Shop at the end of the street.

He entered the shop and the bell ringed from the top of the door. “Welcome!” A voice called from the checkout table. He made his way through to the back of the shop, and there was a burly man behind the counter, with big blue eyes. He had a smile on his face, “How can I help you?”

“Er, I was actually looking for someone. I don’t know his name but he was working here last week, um had curly blond hair, I think...” Teddy was feeling all his nervousness pour down. He just wanted to leave, to get out of the shop. What was he thinking coming here for? The man looked just as confused as he was, and before he could reply Teddy spoke again.

“Never mind, sorry I’m just--gonna head out now.” He rushed back out and slammed the store door shut a bit harder than he meant to. He took in the fresh air and decided to settle down in the cafe two shops down, across the street.

It had probably been a couple of hours. He managed to drink two coffees, get some lunch from a noodles stand, and had taken a brief walk on the beach. Still no luck in finding the mysterious man. He had thought about leaving starting back to Bill and Fleur’s when he caught the curly head man walking on the other side of the street. All his doubts went out the door and all he could think of was calling the man before he vanished again. Teddy would not let that happen. He wanted to talk. He needed to talk to this man.

“Excuse me? Sir?!”

The man stopped and turned.

“Excuse me? Excuse me?” Teddy jogged to catch up. He wasn’t even thinking how crazy he might be looking chasing after some random man.

The man stopped still and straightened up as he approached him. Teddy gave a small smile, trying his best to remain normal. “Sorry, didn’t mean to chase you,” He was catching his breath.

“Only I’ve been sitting in that cafe for five hours hoping you’d come back.”


	2. The Aftershock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MsKingBean89 wrote this perfectly fine (beginning of chapter 2 of Out of the Blue) so please read that if you already haven't. This chapter takes place right after Teddy talks to Grant.

He just finished talking with Grant and was given two things. One, permission to stay in touch with Grant. Two, the keys to Remus’s old flat in London. Besides that, he just learned a little too much in the past thirty minutes. He was happy to learn more about his father but shocked at all the things he had found out. Yesterday if someone asked him about his father, he would have said a quiet but brave man who fought and help win the Second Wizarding War. He only knew so much from what Harry, his ex-professors, and ex-order members have told him. He never really realized he had a whole separate life before meeting his mum or Harry. A random middle-aged man knew more about his dad than any wizard or witch ever had.

Bits and bits started to make sense to him, he understands his father was gay and together with Sirius, but did he love his mum? Or did he only marry her because his first love had died? Questions started filling his mind, and he was starting to think of this whole situation negatively. Until he visits the old flat in London, he will not overthink this. He needed a distraction.

* _Crack_ *

He apparated straight to Bill and Fleur’s cottage in Tinworth, Cornwall. They had spent the past summer camping on the beach, all the older kids, mostly the Weasleys. Teddy Lupin, Victoire Weasley, Dominique Weasley, Molly Weasley II, Fred Weasley II, and a couple of other friends from school. The Shell Cottage was isolated and on the shores of the beach. The tide was low, but he could hear the ebb and flow of the water. It felt very calm, and he stayed outside just for a bit, enjoying the fresh air.  
He knocked on the front door, and Victoire swung it opened. Looking beautiful as always, her golden blond hair was tied up into a messy bun, her deep blue eyes matched the color of the ocean.

He flung himself onto her, unable to control his feelings about everything. She gracefully accepted it, tightening her arms around his neck and he breathed down on her small shoulder. They stood like that for what seemed hours. As he finally let go, he saw Louis, her brother staring him down from the other room. He tried to hold his grin in, as he found it funny. Victoire closed the door behind him. Dominique was sitting on the sofa painting her nails and gave him a small smile.

“So how was it?” Victoire asked as she brought him some cold butterbeer from the fridge.

“I don’t think I’m ready to talk about it.”

“All right, but I assume that means he did know about your dad?”

“Yup, he bloody knew my dad.”

They sat down at the dining table, in silence. He found himself unable to sit still. All he wanted to do was run straight to the flat and look for all the things Grant had mentioned. Victoire came closer and whispered to him, “Want some Firewhiskey in that? I found dad’s alcohol cabinet.” She smirked.

He raised his eyebrows in amusement. “Where _is_ your dad?”

She leaned in closer, “He and mum are at Uncle Percy’s place for another two hours.”

He liked this. This was what he needed. A distraction. “So...we have the house all to ourselves?” He whispered back.

“Not completely--.” They both turned around and looked at Dominique and Louis sitting in the other room. She grabbed his arm and practically dragged him up the stairs. He could hear Louis mutter as they left the dining room.  
“He has all these secret enchantments to keep it hidden, but it’s easy to undo once you know where it is. Stole a couple of bottles. Hid it in my closet.” She explained as they both went up into her room. He was impressed.

“My delinquent,” he smirked as she poured some Firewhiskey into their drinks. Although he had just turned of age, she still had a month before she turned seventeen. He caught her wrists, fine soft white wrists, and pulled her to him. She allowed it. The shadows of her face so close to his he could smell the cinnamon fragrance of the whiskey she had been drinking. He pressed his lips onto hers, his hands running through her silky hair. It felt amazing, all he could care about was her soft lips and wrapping his hand around her small waist. She was so fierce, sliding her tongue, increasing the intensity, making her cling onto him as the only solid thing in a dizzy swaying world. He spun her around, she pulled him in and they both fell onto the bed together--just a little too hard.

“Shit. Shit! Shit!”

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” a voice echoed from downstairs.

The bed frame had been broken from the sudden weight brought on it, making a huge crash on the wooden floors. They both managed to get up from the half-split bed.

“It’s alright…” Teddy pulled his wand out, “Reparo.”

And with that, it was back to normal. They looked at the renewed bed and turned to each other, immediately started laughing.

“Let’s go downstairs before your little brother actually kills me,” Teddy guffawed.

They made their way downstairs, the other two still minding their own business. The rest of the evening they spent on the sand outside, talking and the topic had finally come out. He told him everything, after all, there’s nothing to be ashamed of, it's bloody 2016, Teddy thought. She wasn’t. She was comforting and supportive of every decision he was choosing to make.

Bill and Fleur soon came home, they had meatballs and garlic bread toast with pumpkin juice. They all played five rounds of exploding snap after dinner and listened to some stories of the Second Wizarding War from Bill. Teddy was already aware that his father came rushing over to this same cottage the day he was born and made Harry his godfather. He slept on the couch because his other option was to share with Louis and he very much would like to wake up in the morning in one piece.

***

The next morning he was back at the Potter’s house. He had apparated into the back garden. Due to the family’s natural fame because of Harry being ‘the chosen one’ ‘the boy who lived' and in the end the boy who killed Voldermort. Ginny being a professional quidditch player for the Holyhead Harpies. They had to cast a bunch of protective spells around the mansion, making it only visible to family and friends. He made his way onto the back door, and as always the house was full of chaos. He never minded, he liked noise, because that means you're not alone.

“Teddy!” Lily called getting up from the dining table and wrapping her small arms around his leg. He managed to pick her up and slightly throw her up in the air, catching her again and putting her back on the floor.

“How are you!” He asked trying to match the same tone of excitement radiating off of her.

“Mad.”

“Why?” They both made their way to the breakfast table where Harry, Ginny, and Albus were eating. James was already back at Hogwarts, with the Easter holidays finished. Teddy was suppose to return today, but Harry had gotten permission from McGonagall, that he could return a day late.

“You won’t dye my hair pink or blue or purple.”

He started laughing, it had been months of him delaying his promise to dye her hair to match his color-changing hair.  
“Ginny will kill me if I touch your already red hair!” He sat down on the empty chair on the dining table. They all started talking about hair dye and Teddy being a metamorphous. In the end  
Ginny allowed Lily to dye her hair only for a week using the Color Change Charm. So that’s what he spent the afternoon doing. Changing it from yellow to blue to pink.

“How did your visit go?” Harry finally asked that afternoon when he popped into his bedroom. Teddy sat up on his bed and put his phone down.

“Good. Great, actually. I-- Er-- learned quite a lot.” He wanted to tell Harry, because if it was anyone, Harry would be the one to understand the most. Harry came inside his room, and sat down on the chair across his desk.

“If you want to talk about it, I’m all ears.”

So he did he explained everything once again.

“He used to live in the flat in London with Sirius, they moved in together after Hogwarts, did you know that?”

“Wow, um no, I didn’t know that.” Harry was already looking surprised as if that was the biggest bombshell.

“Yeah the man I met, his name is Grant. He used to knew my dad from a children’s home they grew up in, back in 1975.” Harry was shocked at hearing the date, but he continued. “He knew Sirius.”

“The muggle?”

“Yeah, after Sirius went to Azkaban Grant moved in with my dad for many years and when Sirius came back, he left for good. But, Grant and my dad lived together for about twelve years.”

“Then after he joined the Order.” Harry was trying to put the pieces together. “Merlin, you don’t mean your father and this Grant chap were together?”

Teddy gave a weak smile.

“Blimey…”

“I was surprised too, but what shocked me more, er, was that Sirius and my dad dated. Did you know about that?” Teddy couldn’t believe it still, he wasn’t ashamed he was just shocked.

Harry’s eyes widened, “What!?” He gave Teddy an incredulous look, “Sirius and Remus?” he asked.

“Hm-mm. Grant told me that my dad and...Sirius had been together since they were at Hogwarts. Until he went to Azkaban…” Teddy drifted off, trying to gauge how Harry would react.

“Bloody hell,” Harry let out a small laugh. “Sirius and Remus...I would have never guessed.”

Teddy shrugged and pulled out the piece of paper as he began to explain everything else he had learned from this mysterious man. Harry was intrigued, asking questions, usually related to Sirius, after all, he was his godfather.

“Here.” Teddy gave the paper with the address of the flat and Grant’s contact information. “There is a bunch of stuff left there, of both my dad and Sirius. He told me there was a garage for  
Sirius’s motorbike and had boxes of things they owned. I was wondering if you wanted to come.”

Harry just stared at the paper, still shocked, “Of course, Teddy, we can go when you feel ready.”

Teddy’s eyes suddenly prickled with tears and he sniffed, looking away from Harry. “Hey bud,” Harry came and sat by him on the bed wrapping an arm around him, into a hug. Teddy leaned in, feeling like a five-year child, small and protected, not a six-foot-two teenager.

He laughed and pulled away whipping his eyes. He took a steady breath and met Harry’s green eyes. “Do you think my dad loved her? My mum?” He had been dying to ask that questions because he was constantly thinking of the worst possible answer to it.

“Oh Teddy, yes he did.” Harry took some time to think and continued “I don’t know much about their relationships or his relationships before he met your mother, but he loved you and Tonks. I remember when you were born he was the happiest I had ever seen him. I’m quite sure he and Tonks loved each other very much.”


	3. The London Flat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Teddy go to the London flat and Garage! (Might be a little emotional...)

_2 weeks later, London Flat_

He was standing looking at a faded yellow door, paint chipped on the button and rust on the door handle. Harry spent the past thirty so minutes undoing all the protective charms and enchantments. It was a sunny Saturday, instead of Hogsmede weekend, he had come with Harry to London. They were standing staring at the yellow door, unsure of what might be inside. Harry politely waited as Teddy finally took out the key, Grant had given him. He fiddled it into the lock and managed to unlock it, and opened the creaking door. 

There was dust everywhere including the air, he tried fanning it out but it only caused more. “Scorgify!” 

Finally able to see better, there was a couch and a rocking chair with cigarette stains on it and the window frame. There was an empty lighter on the table, along with some papers and books scattered around the living room. The wallpaper was ripped and the kitchen was just as dirty. No one had been in here for years. They looked around, _Lumos,_ light beaming from the tip of their wand. 

“Daily Profit...it’s from 1995...that’s me.” Harry picked up the dusty newspaper from the couch, it had ‘THE BOY WHO LIES?’ written in big letters and a picture of Harry who looked no older than fourteen. “This was right after the Triwizard Tournament...they must have left for the Order Headquarters during this time…” Harry started mumbling things to himself. 

Teddy made his way to the end of the room where some pictures were pinned up on the wall, it was of a big black blob labeled, _‘Drunk Padfoot -taken by Prongs.’_ He took the dusty pictures and cleared the dust off to see a big black dog. Another picture was of Remus, he easily recognized him, his arm resting on Sirius’s shoulder as they both smoked at night in the middle of the street. It was labeled, ‘ _They’re filling that shit in their lungs again -Marlene.’_ He stood there looking at the picture, it was of his dad for sure, but he looked different. Much younger than any other pictures he had seen, looked happy, it was nice. 

He made his way to the fridge which had a glossy pink stain on it and there was a note hanging on by a magnet. Teddy picked it up and started reading,

_Gone out to get milk and more bread because you keep eating it all. - Sirius_

There were packets, most empty of Marlboro’s lying around, and a big empty bookcase with only a couple of books left. Teddy assumed they were all packed away in the garage or they took them to the Order headquarters. 

He made his way to the back of the flat, it seemed to be the bedroom. He opened the door, and Harry followed behind. There was one big bed with a nightstand on each side, just like couples have in their rooms. He looked around there weren’t many pictures hung up but they found another piece of paper that seemed like a list on the floor.

_Mad-Eye_

_The Weasleys; Arthur, Molly, Bill, and Charlie_

_Kingsley Shanklebolt_

_Hestia Jones_

_Minnie McGonagall_

_Fleur Delacour_

_Snivellus (only because Dumbledore says so.)_

_Tonks, Andy, and Ted_

_Mundungus_

_Dumbledore (Aberforth and Albus)_

_Moony and Padfoot_

~~_Harry_ ~~

~~_Mary Macdonald_ ~~

Harry’s and Mary’s names seemed to be scratched off the list. Harry peered over Teddy’s shoulder and said, “They were probably making a list of people during the Order reformation.” Teddy passed the paper to him after he ran his finger where ‘ _Tonks’_ was written. It didn’t feel right standing in their bedroom. It was already hard enough to understand the fact that his dad had a whole life before he met his mum. That even Harry didn’t know about it.

“I can’t be here, I--.” He looked at Harry who nodded. He picked a couple of the notes and pictures laying around that Teddy had looked at and followed Teddy out the front door. Teddy took in the fresh air outside and continued to walk down, away from the flat. 

“I’d like to go to the Garage.” He said heading straight to the back of the flats where a couple of garages stood. 

“Merlin!” Harry lifted the door open with his wand and there were more than a dozen boxes stacked along the wall. Unlike the flat, these boxes seemed to be in pristine conditions. It was obvious there were charms protecting all of the boxes. Harry looked at Teddy who was still standing back, “You ready?”

They started pulling the boxes from the stacks, opening them carefully. Pulling out items randomly, some had clothes, some had pictures, others had papers and books. 

Suddenly Harry drew a sharp breath as he stared down at a picture. 

“What?” Teddy walked over and sat on his knees looking at the picture. 

It was a wizard photographs. A young man with the same crazy hair as Harry and round glasses. The other women had braided red hair with pale skin and rosy-cheeked. They were both smiling down at the baby in the arms of another man with long black hair and a leather jacket. It was labeled, ‘ _Prongs, Padfoot, Mrs. Prongs and Baby Prongs - Dec. 80’_

“That’s you isn’t it?” Teddy asked pointing to the little baby Sirius was holding. Harry nodded and wiped his eyes with his sleeves.

He left Harry and went back to his box. They found tons of records from David Bowie and T. Rex. Soon enough the entire garage floor was covered in pictures, letters, postcards, books, and clothes. They found Hogwarts uniforms and Gryffindors jumpers of all sizes and Quidditch supplies. There was a couple of brooms including a beater bat. 

Harry teared up multiple times reading letters, which he claimed to be from Lily or James to Sirius while they were in hiding. He found letters from a man names Ferox, Dumbledore, Mary Macdonald, Hope Jenkins, the Potters, and more. A dented shining prefect pin. Tons of metal tools seemed to be for Sirius’s motorbike. 

He came across more pictures and slowly went through them. One was a moving picture of Sirius and Lily as they were attempting to waltz in their old flat. Labeled _‘Padfoot trying to teach Lily to waltz. -Enjoyed by Remus!’_

Another was a group of teenagers; three girls. One had blond hair, another had red hair, and the last had brown hair they were all huddled up in a blanket laughing with drinks in their hands. They were sitting near a bonfire and the brown-haired girl was pulling Remus into the picture who was very much trying to resist. It was labeled, _‘Cornwall, ‘77.’_ Teddy felt a weird shock because he had just spent the last summer in Cornwall camping. He found couple more pictures of Cornwall. One was of the red-haired girl, Lily, and James asleep cuddled together in a tent. Another was of the four boys, Teddy had heard so much on the Marauders. Remus, Sirius, Peter, and James were all sitting on a wooden log with gin in their hands, laughing at the camera. There was a picture of a blond-haired girl, James, Lily, and Sirius making a sandcastle. The girls were pouring wet sand while James and Sirius sat there, shirtless, in awe with their mouths wide open. It was labeled, _‘Bloody Purebloods -taken by Remus.’_

He passed the pictures of Cornwall to Harry who also started looking at them, occasionally laughing. Teddy moved onto a photo album labeled “Hogwarts during the Marauders Era! - made by Prongs.” He started flipping through it, in the beginning, there were pictures of little boys who looked about 12 or 13. Most of them were taken while preparing for a prank or sitting in their dormitory. _‘Spreading rosehip seed in Slytherin dormitories! Remus’s idea.’_ The other three boys were all looking at the camera with their fingers over their mouths gesturing to be quiet. Another was of all the boys and the girls in the boy's dormitory laughing while eating chocolates and pasties. Labeled, _‘Remu’s midnight birthday feast. (We set off fireworks and got detention too.)_ Teddy laughed at this as Harry came over and together they continued to look through the album. _‘Prongs drunk and trying to impress Evans.’_ or _‘Sneaking off ground through Honkeydukes!’_ or _‘WE ARE CHANGING TIME! - taken by Padfoot at 12 AM’_ or _‘Quidditch with Prongsie boy.’_ or _‘They keep listening to David Bowie - Prongs’_ or _‘Moony and Padfoot drunk on 1976 Christmas Eve @ Hogs Head’_ or _‘Planning final prank on Slytherin w/ the girls :)’_ or _‘Three broomsticks! -taken by Peter, I’m seventh wheeling.’_ James and Lily were huddled up very close in the corner, Marlene and another dark-headed girl were sharing a butterbeer, and Remus and Sirius were in a deep conversation. The very last picture was Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter all standing looking at the Hogwarts castle from the lake, with students all around the field, most of who seemed to be yelling. Labeled, _‘Our Legacy ends today, June 1998’_

“Look! It’s Sirius’s.” Harry had found a leather jacket and was looking at it in shock and hesitating, but finally, put it on. There was _SOB_ written on the back. Teddy just smiled, happy to see Harry enjoying this as much as he was. 

The last box had most of Sirius’ stuff including some pictures. Grant and Remus smoking out the window of the London flat. Remus asleep on Sirius’s lap, Sirius petting his hair. Teddy felt an odd lurch in his stomach looking at these pictures. He found it hard to believe because he always assumed his dad in his late 30s always with his mum from the beginning. 

By the end, they had sorted out boxes to take back, and one to send to Grant. He didn’t know what to do with it, and it felt wrong to keep everything. They sorted a box of muggle books to add to the Potter library, including a couple to take back with them. 

As they leviated all the boxes to apparate with one-by-one because to the Potter Manor, Harry looked at him and smiling affectionately. “What?” He asked laughing awkwardly. 

“Nothing.” He looked away grabbing a box to apparate with, “I’m just proud of you.” 


	4. The Memorial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New characters introduced! (Weasley Kids! and mention of many Black family members)

_Two Weeks Later, May 1st 2016_

Just yesterday, he sent Grant a box of photos and other items that belonged to him. 

_Grant,_

_I found these at the flat, there were a few I thought you’d like. There are records, too - Dad had good taste!_

_You were right, he had a lot of happy memories here. It looks like you did, too, and it felt unfair to keep everything._

_Best wishes,_

_Teddy Remus Lupin._

He sent it through the muggle post. Of course, the boxes that he and Harry brought back were with them. The books were organized into the library although most were muggle books. Harry had safely put back most of his pictures in a memory room he had created. It was on the second floor and had multiple glass showcases almost like a museum. There were pictures and items that belonged to those close to Harry and Ginny that had passed away. This included Order members, their old classmates, Ginny’s brother, Harry’s parents, and even his dad. Some items included the letter Regulus Arcturus Black had written, Hedwig’s cage, the Marauder’s Map (although James stole that), the letter Lily had written to Sirius, a clipped mirror that used to be Sirius and James’s, a golden snitch, and more.

There were pictures of the original Order, old newspaper clippings, and even Sirius’s leather jackets. Toward the back of the room, there was a wand cabinet. It was a glass cabinet and inside were the wands of replicas of Mad-Eye, Lily, Fred, James, Remus, Tonks, Sirius’s wands, and more. The originals were buried with them. 

He saved some of his father’s stuff and brought it back to his gran’s house, Andromeda. He just came back from the Potters to his gran’s house. Students whose family members had passed 18 years ago, were allowed the weekend off. Tomorrow, they were going to go to Hogwarts together. It’s a tradition almost everyone in the Wizarding World had taken in.

He sat there looking at the old pictures of his mum and dad. He always knew more about his mum because of Andromeda. She told him all about her when she was a baby, teenager, and even about the Black Family. She hated talking about her family but always said Sirius was her favorite cousin. He had visited Grimmauld Pl with Harry a couple of times, as that used to be Sirius’s house and headquarters. He saw the Black Family tapestry along with many names he recognized, Andromeda Tonks, Sirius Black, Regulus Black, Draco Malfoy, Narcissa Black Malfoy, and of course Bellatrix Lestrange. He met Narcissa a couple of times as she occasionally comes to visit Andromeda. They grew close once again in the past few years after the war had ended. 

He found himself unable to sleep just like last year, and the year before. He was wondering whether he would tear up like last year, and the answer was pretty obvious. Yes. He would.

***

_May 2nd 2016, Hogwarts_

It had been eighteen years since his parents died. Since the other 50 had died. Since we won the war. Since Voldermort had finally been killed. It’s a day no one in history will ever forget, May 2nd, 1998. 

Today was different. Today was 2016. For the past eighteen years, there has always been a beautiful memorial service for everyone who fought and died in the war. When he was at Hogwarts the whole day would be given off, in respect to those who lost their lives. Those who fought in the war and family members of those who died would all be there. In short, everyone was there.

He and Andromeda apparated to Hogsmeded just like everyone else. They all walked in silence, up to Hogwarts grounds. All the students and staff would be on the field in between the Quidditch Pitch and the Castle, right next to the Black Lake. There were hundreds of chairs lined up for everyone to sit on, including 50 chairs that remained empty for those who died. In the front of all the chairs was a podium along with a long table with pictures of those who died. It already had flowers pilled on the table. They had brought two flowers, a pink rose for his mum, and a white tulip for his dad. Many were already seated in the chairs, others were standing and quietly talking to each other on the lawn. The rest were in the front looking and putting flowers at the pictures on the long table. 

Teddy walked up and saw two portraits next to one another, his mum and dad. She had her pink hair all crazy and her smile was radiating from the glass. On her left was his dad. He was grinning from ear to ear in his favorite grey jumper. Teddy put the flowers down on top of the others already there. He hadn’t even noticed until everything became a slight blur that he was tearing up. He wasn’t ashamed. He lightly whipped them with his sleeve and looked at his gran who was doing the same. 

“I’m proud of them,” he told her with his chin up and proper demeanor. 

“I am too.” She looked at the pictures once again, and looked at him, “Let’s find a seat, love.”

They both headed back to the chairs. The students were all seated some with their family others with their classmates in their Hogwarts jumpers but they are told not to wear their house colors because this was a moment where everyone comes together. Families were seated on the chairs, and they found the Potter-Weasley clan and took two seats near everyone. Victoire and all the other Weasley/Potter cousins were sitting together. He went up to her and sat in the chair next to her, and gave a small peck on her cheek. 

“Happy Birthday,” he whispered to her. 

She turned, meeting his eyes, and smiled softly, “Thank you.” 

Although Victoire’s birthday always fell on May 2, she gave it up each year, for those who had passed. It was always celebrated a day later. He had something planned for her sixteenth, but it would have to wait till tomorrow. 

The service went on for an hour, Headmistress, McGonagall had given a speech, along with the Minister of Magic, Hermione Granger. After them, some other high officials, those who fought in the war gave a small speech. This included Harry, Ron Weasley, Professor Longbottom, and more. Each had a different tone. While Hermione’s was all seriousness, Ron’s speech had humor that occasionally made everyone laugh or giggle. Once we had a minute of silence for the fallen fifty, each family lit a candle and they all floated straight to the long table. Floating right on top of the pictures and flowers. 

Soon the younger students were escorted back, but the older students were allowed to stay for a little longer. Andromeda had left along with Hermione who had to get to the Ministry. Everyone stood talking and made their way out back to Hogsmeade. Everyone usually went and stayed for lunch before they apparated back home. As head boy, Teddy assigned most of the prefects to take the students back inside. He was last to enter, along with the Professors. 

The rest of the day was calm like always. No classes, everyone was usually outside in the courtside or in the common rooms with their friends. Although the Weasleys would always be in Gryffindor. This generation was different. Everyone was mixed up between Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. They never seemed to get sorted into Slytherin. Teddy was in Hufflepuff along with Louis Weasley and Molly (Percy and Audrey’s daughter). Ravenclaw had Victoire and Lucy Weasley (Percy’s younger daughter). Lastly in bellowed Gryffindor was James Sirius Potter, along with Dominique Weasley, and Fred and Roxanne Weasley (George and Angelina’s kids). 

They were all sitting in the Gryffindor common room, their usuall family meet-up spot. The conversation drifted from War to Victoire’s birthday to Hogwarts houses. 

“I think Rose is going to be in Gryffindor,” Molly said lying her head on Roxanne’s lap and feet on Lucy’s lap much to her distress. The three girls were on the red sofa with Louis sitting on the armrest, near Molly’s head. 

“She’s so clever that girl, definitely a Ravenclaw,” Victoire advocated for her own house sitting on Teddy’s lap as they were stuck on the single-seat armchair across from the sofa. 

“What about Lily?” Freddy asked, lying on his stomach on the floor planning some prank. 

“I wouldn’t be shocked if she was in Slytherin, that kid is cunning. She knows how to get up your arse,” Dominique replied sitting across Freddy on the red rug. 

Everyone was laughing and continued this conversation. It was like a big family all sitting close together by the fireplace on this day, May 2nd. No one seemed to mind the fact that there were a bunch of students from other houses taking over their common room. But that might just be because the Head Boy was there too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a lot of new characters (The Weasley kids) and it's hard to understand their descriptions, so here it is:
> 
> Bill and Fleur's:  
> Victoire Weasley (Vic)- Year 6; Ravenclaw  
> Dominique Weasley (Dom)- Year 4; Gryffindor  
> Louis Weasley- Year 1; Hufflepuff
> 
> Percy and Audrey's:  
> Molly Weasley- Year 5; Hufflepuff  
> Lucy Weasley- Year 2; Ravenclaw
> 
> George and Angelina's:  
> Roxanne Weasley- Year 3; Gryffindor  
> Fred Weasley (Freddy)- Year 4; Gryffindor
> 
> Harry and Ginny's:  
> Teddy Lupin- Year 7; Hufflepuff  
> James Sirius- Year 1; Gryffindor


	5. The Birthday Surprise (part one)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teddy meets another one of Remus's old friends...

_ May 3rd, 2016 _

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!” 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO VICTOIRE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!”

By the end, almost the whole great hall was singing along. Fred and Dominique leading everyone, while Victoire had her head in her hands completely embarrassed by her cousins. Teddy was standing there singing along, softy, in awe of how beautiful she looks. Her long blond hair had soft curls and they were all at the Ravenclaw table singing during breakfast. It was tradition to sing or rather scream the birthday song during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Obviously, it would have been disrespectful yesterday, so her birthday is celebrated today. 

“I’m sorry,” Teddy mouthed to her as she finally looked up, cheeks red. 

“You guys are not doing this for lunch or dinner,” she told her cousins, as everyone else returned to their seats. 

“Oh yes, we bloody are!” Fred and Roxanne replied in unison. 

Teddy walked Victoire to Potions and went to Herbology. They had made plans for the afternoon because the evening was booked with the rest of the cousins. 

***

“Tell me where we are going, Lupin,” Victoire called from under the blindfold. They both bunked off their afternoon classes to go somewhere. 

“You’ll see, mon amour!” Teddy continued to guide her through the tunnel. 

“My love?” She laughed, “You’ve been learning French?” 

“Oui. Your sister is helping me learn.” They made their way to the end of the tunnel and exited a cellar. 

“Lupin, I know we are in Honeyduke’s cellar, I can smell the chocolate,” she laughed, still under a blindfold. 

“Okay fine. Here,” he took the blindfold off. “We’re going to apparate somewhere, hold my arm.” 

“What? Where are we--,” Before Victoire could finish her thought, they both were being sucked into what seemed a tight tunnel, and holding onto each other the finally landed. She stumbled upon landing. 

They ended up on the top of a tall cliff overshadowing the entire city of Edinburgh below. From where they were standing, there was only five feet of land before the 823 feet cliff fell straight down. A gust of strong wind flew straight through them. He wrapped his arms around her, protecting, from the strong gust of winds. He took a deep breath and they stood there, silent in the enticing tranquility. 

“Wow! Where are we?” Victoire finally asked after another gust of wind flew past them. 

“Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh, Scotland,” he replied, bewildered. “Gran brought me here once, she and my grandad used to spend evenings together, here. It’s even better at night when all the house and street lights are on.”

“Is that...a castle?”

“ Edinburgh Castle.”

Just in the middle of the city stood a big volcanic rock castle. It was perched upon a hillside, with grass growing all around it, 443 feet above sea level, but not nearly reaching the level from where they stood. 

“It’s beautiful.”

“Yes, Magnifique!”

She laughed at him, and they sat on the cliff, carefully, dangling their legs on the edge, looking down at the beautiful Scottish city. 

“Let’s go, we have reservations at  _ Rhubarb _ , it’s right there,” he pointed at some random building, they soon apparated and landed in the back of the building. 

The interior looked like the Gryffindor common room. A round room with a long red light running along the perimeter of the ceiling. An old fashion rock-crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The walls had red paint with pictures of people from the 1800s, velvet drapes hung next to the tall windows. The round tables had white tablecloths, a bouquet of roses sitting in the middle, and clear wine glasses next to the swan-shaped handkerchiefs. 

They were served pressed Ayrshire bacon collar and parsley roulade, black pudding, plum jam, with Arran mustard. They were going to get Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve, but with muggles, you must be eighteen to buy alcohol, so they stuck with virgin margaritas. 

“How did you find this place?” She asked eating the pudding.

“Gran told me. My grandad had brought her here, he was muggle-born so he knew all the fancy muggle places.”

“I take it he was very romantic.”

“He was, their whole love story seems like a fairytale. A muggle-born and pureblood falling in love, running away from the toxic pureblood household, and getting married in the beach. It seems so unreal.”

They continued talking about love stories and somehow ended the conversation by talking about how her uncle, Ron had asked her mom out on a school ball. 

“He yelled at her to go with her because he was so nervous, and she flat out rejected him.” This wasn’t the first time he had heard about this, in fact in most family occasions it was brought up by one of the kids, just to embarrass Ron. 

“Teddy, smile!” Victoire took her phone out, as they waited for the waiter to bring his change and receipt back, they had already paid the bill. 

“What? No, let me change my hair to normal,” He quickly, without thinking changed his blue hair to a dirty blond, almost brown. 

“Lupin!” She laughed, “Blue looks better but oh well,” she took the picture and showed him and he didn’t like the way he creased his eyes, so he made her take it again, and again, and again. After what seemed ten pictures, he allowed her to save one. He changed him immediately back to blue. 

“LUPIN!” She whispered-shouted leaning in.

“Sh!”

“Someone could easily see you.”

They looked around to their left and turned around and saw everyone else just minding their own business, eating, and in conversation with the others at their table. Teddy turned back around to look a Victoire, and said, “See no one saw--.”

Teddy looked on his right and saw a middle-aged brown-skinned lady looking at him, her mouth slightly opened. She was there with another man who’d back was facing them. He looked away from her back to Victoire. 

“Don’t turn around, but there’s some lady staring at me,” he whispered. 

“What?!” 

“Sh!” He slightly looked back and she was still staring at him with her eyes wide open. 

“What does she look like? How old is she?” Victoire asked him much quieter this time. 

“I don’t know maybe in her forties or something.”

“Just ignore her, she’s probably just looking at your crazy hair.”

“Hey! You said you like it blue!” He snapped, and she started laughing, right when the waiter came. 

“Here you are sir, anything else I can do for you two?” The waiter asked.

Teddy addressed him and they soon got their belongings and left the restaurant. They decided on walking down the street and roaming in the shops for a bit because apparating back on a full stomach never ended well. So they went to took a ride in the double-decker bus, driving by muggle shops, and ended up near a muggle university. They looked at the old stone building in awe, it was beautiful. 

“Hogwarts is better.”

“Yeah, Hogwarts is better,” Teddy agreed, but they continued to stare at the building from across the street, students with books and backpacks coming in and out of the gates. Cars going in and out, some very fancy convertibles. Muggles weren’t so different from wizards, Teddy thought. 

“Merlin’s beard, what the hell is that?” Teddy asked, pointing behind them. 

“Your the one taking Muggle Studies, you tell me,” she laughed dragging him closer to the stand. It wasn’t too busy, but the man was selling huge pink and blue fluffs, with a board saying the fluffs cost six pounds each. 

“Excuse me, sir, what is this?” Victoire asked confidently pointing to the pink fluff. 

The man just stared at her as if she said the stupidest thing. Teddy, embarrassed put his hand deep down in his pockets. “Er--this is--Candyfloss…” He answered uncomfortably. 

“Strange,” Victoire on the other hand was amused, “So what do you do with it? Do you  _ eat _ it?” 

The man once again looked at her strangely, “Is this some sort of prank? Are you one of the college students trying to be funny?” He asked quite fiercely. 

“It’s just a question!” She snapped back, “Muggles, you lot are so weird!” 

“What did you call me? Is that some insult?” The man asked angrily. 

Teddy finally stepped in breaking the argument, “No--no, sorry sir. Let’s go Victoire!” He took her left arm taking her away from the stand, she turned around and propped her other hand up, flicking her middle finger towards him. They started laughing immediately after that and settled down on a metal bench across the street. 

“Candyfloss! What the bloody hell is  _ candyfloss _ ?” They were still on that when they heard someone calling for them. 

“Excuse me! Excuse me,” a woman was walking towards them. They looked at each other awkwardly and confused. Teddy suddenly recognized her, she was the same lady from the restaurant who was staring at him. Teddy quickly felt his belt and made sure his wand was still there. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to come after you, but I couldn’t help notice, you just called that man a muggle.” She was standing in front of the bench they were sitting on. Victoire turned and looked at Teddy, who was just staring back at the lady, trying to figure out why she sort of looks familiar. 

“Er--yeah…” Victoire replied. 

“Look, tell me to leave and I will, but I couldn’t help to notice you look so familiar,” she said looking at Teddy. 

Teddy looked at Victoire for help, and turned back to the lady, “You were at _Rhubarb,_ just now, right?” 

“Yes, I was, and I just overheard you call him...Lupin and in caught my attention.” 

Teddy felt a great lump in his stomach,  _ did she know his dad?  _ He was meeting way too many people all of a sudden that knew his father. 

“Er, yeah that would be me,” he replied, not feeling comfortable enough to give out his full name to this stranger. It was like she could understand what he was thinking. 

“Sorry, where are my manners, I’m Mary, Mary Macdonald.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arthur's Seat and the Rhubarb are real places in Edinburgh, Scotland. Go and look it up to understand where they exactly were.


	6. The Birthday Surprise (part two)

_Buggering Christ._ She was from all the old photographs he had found in the London flat. His eyes widened. 

“You knew my dad, didn’t you?” He asked uncomfortably.

“Re--Remus?” she asked just as uncomfortably. 

“Yeah. Remus.”

They stood in silence. 

“Sorry it’s just, I never knew he had a kid, he…,” she trailed off, but he felt comfortable enough to explain a bit more.

“I was born in 1998...right before the war. My mum and dad both...died during the war.”

“Your mum too? Sorry about that, love,” she replied. 

“Told the bloody fool not to go back, but he was…” she trailed off again, blinking rapidly trying to hold back her tears, laughing it off. He knew it too well. 

“Did you know my mum?” He asked, but already knew the answer, “Nymphadora Tonks?”

She looked at him and nodded, “Sorry lad, I never even knew that he married a… but I recognize the ‘Tonks’ name.” 

There was more awkward silence, and finally, she spoke up again, “Would you like to get some coffee, there’s a shop across the street. Maybe you can fill me in and I’m pretty sure you might have questions…” 

It was like she knew him, because _Yes! I always have questions,_ he thought. 

“Er--I would really like to and yes, I do have some questions, because I didn’t really know him that well. And everyone who did know him, you know, um died I guess.” He shouldn't have said that because she probably knew them too, why couldn’t he talk properly. “But can we do it some other time? Sorry it’s just we have to get back, Er, we kinda bunked class and came here…”

“That’s something Remus has done,” she laughed, “Of Course, I had no idea you would still be at Hogwarts, here, my phone number.” 

“Yeah, final year,” he said, adding her phone number to his phone. 

“And what about you?” She asked, looking at Victoire. 

“Sixth year.” “Oldest in my entire family,” She added, trying to create more normal conversation, it was obvious. 

“Big family, I’m guessing?” She asked, putting her phone back into her pockets. 

Victoire laughed, “Oh it's big, Weasley family.”

“No way! You’re not one of Molly Weasley’s kids?”

Victoire looked shocked in hearing this, “Yeah, she’s my grandma.”

“Blimey! Well, I don’t want to get you two in trouble, so I’ll let you go…”

“Thank you for approaching me, and I hope to meet up soon,” Teddy said shyly.

“Oh, you will get rid of me now. Bring your girl too, I want to see how many more Weasley’s I know,” she winked at Victoire and started walking back to the stand where she met up with the man she was with, in the restaurant. 

“What the hell just happened?” Teddy looked at Victoire shocked. 

“No idea. But we have to get back, it will be weird if they realize the Head Boy has been gone all afternoon.”

So they did. They apparated back to the cellar and rushed back into the castle. It was half-past four by the time they got back and went straight to the Gryffindor tower.

“Where the hell have you two been?” Dominique asked, as soon as they walked into the portrait hole.

“Yeah, been lookin’ for you for hours,” Roxanne added. 

“You weren’t on the map, checked like five times,” James whispered to him as they sat down on the red sofas. 

“Bloody hell, calm down, we just went...to Hogsmeade,” Teddy answered, looking at Victoire sitting on the opposite couch. 

“Oi! Look who decided to come back!” Freddy exclaimed, coming down from the spiraling staircase of the boy’s dormitories. 

“Why is everyone being arseholes?” 

“...They’re mad they didn’t get to sing to you during lunch…” Molly answered from under her book. 

“And the fact that you didn’t invite me to bunk class too!” James added.

“James, you’re literally a first year, no first-year bunks, and if your dad finds out…”

“Are you threatening me?” James sat up from the sofa, “We’ll just see...after all my name is _James Sirius_ …”

“Oh god, not again.”

That evening they spent the rest of the time together in the Gryffindor common room, chatting and secretly stuffing each other with Canary Creams that they stole from Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. They ate a good fifteen cartons of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, twenty Chocolate Frogs, and about fifty Licorice wands. Wrappers and empty paper cartons were spread all over the sofas and floor. Roxanne had turned Fred’s ears into kumquats, and Lucy’s hair bright yellow after telling them _“You should be studying with final exams coming up.”_ Just before dinner, Teddy was forced into making a promise with James that they would go and set off dungbombs in the dungeons this week. 

During dinner they all sang Happy Birthday to Victoire but by the last line, she had _silencioed_ all of them. When she finally undid the spell, they, or rather Freddy began singing once again, and this time she had him silenced all throughout dinner. They all returned to their house tables, no one eating anything, stuffed from all the junk they had eaten just thirty minutes before. 

Just four hours later, Teddy was completely drunk in the Ravenclaw common room. Not drunk, _pissed_. Bladdered. The party was originally because Ravenclaw beat Slytherin in their last game, but in truth, they’ve already celebrated that victory twice. The whole common room was dark with only blue grunge lights shining from the chandelier. The ceiling was a painting of a night sky with glowing stars, that were bewitched to seem like they were falling down to the floor. Although, that might have just been because he wasn’t seeing things right. 

It started just like a common party, drinks, food, and music. Outside by Calvin Harris, Night Changes by one direction, Hayloft by Mother Mother, and all the famous muggle tracks playing on the record player. Electronic devices including phone and radio players don’t work at Hogwarts, something to do with “too much magic” and the devices explode. Their phones have protective charms and they only ever use them when outside of Hogwarts, but at parties...they are stuck with trusty old record players. 

_‘We’ve even got a secret handshake. A_ _nd sh_ _e loves the music that my band makes.’_

All the drinks were mixes of different whiskeys and brew with some magic tempering, making it delicious yet stronger than ever. Just two shots of what they call, _Fizzing Wheezwax Leviator_ , and you would blackout. Another cauldron had indigo vapor coming out of it, labeled _U_ _nicorn Blood_. 

_‘I know I'm young but if I had to choose her or the sun. I'd be one nocturnal son of a gun.’_

The party was in full swing, everyone was bobbing along with the tracks, even the slow ones. Victoire and Teddy were dancing, completely unaware of anyone else around them, with blue cups filled with god knows what. Swaying their hips side to side while he spins her around. 

_‘Take a look at my girlfriend. She's the only one I got (ba ba da da).’_

He was singing along with the track on top of his lungs, pointing to Victoire. They were jumping up and down along with everyone else, throwing their hands in the air. 

_‘Not much of a girlfriend. I never seem to get a lot (ba ba da da).’_

Tired and trollied, he flung himself in an armchair with yet another bottle of something lovely and strong. He was feeling warm and sleepy. He allowed gaze at Victoire, chatting by the turntable with her friends. He stared at her, just until he was interrupted. 

“Didn’t know you could dance,” a tall fifth-year girl came up to him. She had long brown hair tied up behind her head. She sat on the armrest of the chair. 

“Hiya Wood! I caaaant dance,” he replied, slurring, clearing drunk. “Whaat is you doin’ hereeee?”

She laughed, “Obviously celebrating Ravenclaw’s win, but we’re going to beat them in the finals. Been making the team train every day.”

“Cooooool.” Teddy knew Kathleen, from family gatherings Harry and Ginny used to have. Her dad, Oliver Wood played for Puddlemere United Reserve. Ginny would occasionally host end-of-season parties, and most of the famous Quidditch players would be there. He trained with Ginny at a very young age and played Chaser on the Hufflepuff team, unfortunately, they lost to Gryffindor. Although he loves talking about Quidditch, he was too tired and confused to understand anything.

“We have the best team this year, and Fred is a bloody good keeper. I’ve even been coming up with these new game plans because the Ravenclaw team has this style they play in. Besides the keepers, the rest of their players are always trailing behind…”

Teddy had drifted off to sleep, and it was both the alcohol and Wood’s boring quidditch plans' fault. 

***

He woke up somehow in his own bed, back in the Hufflepuff dorm, with no memory of what happened after he fell asleep on the sofa. _How irresponsible,_ the head boy thought. He was half expecting to run straight into the bathroom and throw up into the toilet but didn’t. In fact, his head wasn’t even hurting, his throat wasn’t dry, and he didn’t even mind the sunlight beaming inside through the thin yellow curtains. 

“Vic, why do I not have a hangover?” he asked Victoire during breakfast, on the Ravenclaw table, amazed at what he was seeing. All the other Ravenclaws that were at the party, were perfectly normal, nothing hurting, simply eating breakfast like any other day. 

“Probably because someone added Armadillo bile into all the drinks,” she answered casually, “It’s used for the Wit-Sharpening potion...also helps prevent hangovers.”

He was shocked, in his seven-year at Hogwarts, attending multiple parties, he had never thought of using Armadillo bile as a cure. “Bloody clever Ravenclaws,” he muttered.

Before his first class, he managed to sneak away into Honeydukes cellar, away from Hogwarts grounds, to check his phone. 

*new message 1d ago* **Harry:** When you see this can you let James know if he keeps ignoring my letters, I will be sending a Howler. Thanks!

*new message 1d ago* **_Weasleys Rise,_ ** **Dom:** @Teddy and Victoire where the fuck are you guys?

*new message 1d ago* **_Weasleys Rise,_ ** **Roxanne:** they probably bunked

*new message 1d ago* **_Weasleys Rise,_ ** **Freddy:** they probably bunked

*new message 1d ago* **_Weasleys Rise,_ ** **Roxanne:** i just said that

*new message 1d ago* **_Weasleys Rise,_ ** **Freddy:** i just said that

*new message 1d ago* **_Weasleys Rise,_ ** **Roxanne:** *middle finger emoji*

*new message 1d ago* **_Weasleys Rise,_ ** **Dom:** Where are you guys texting from?

*new message 1d ago* **_Weasleys Rise,_ ** **Freddy:** umm

*new message 1d ago* **_Weasleys Rise,_ ** **Roxanne:** lol, Honeydukes cellar

*new message 1d ago* **_Weasleys Rise,_ ** **Freddy:** yeah. Honeydukes cellar

*new message 1d ago* **_Weasleys Rise,_ ** **Roxanne:** he’s lying.

*new message 1d ago* **_Weasleys Rise,_ ** **Molly:** Can you guys stop spamming, thx!

*38 new messages from Freddy 1d ago* **_Weasleys Rise_ **

*new message 3h ago* **Grant Chapman (dad’s friend):** Hey Teddy, thank you for the box you sent over, brought back many happy memories. I hope school is going well! :)

He told Harry, _sure_ . He replied to Grant, _No problem and yes, School is fine!_ He simply wrote _just saw these, whoops, but it’s not like I can check my phone 24/7,_ on the group chat. As he returned back to the castle, he started thinking of ways he might be able to use his phone on the grounds, but something tells him Freddy already found out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song in this chapter was Cupid's Chokehold by the Gym Class Heros.


	7. The Coffee Catch-Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mention of previous deaths.

_ Tuesday, May 10 _

“Where’d you get that!?” Teddy asked as they headed down to the dungeons from the first-floor girl's loo. 

“Stole it from dad’s office,” James smirked, putting the silver cloak over him. 

“So that’s why you’ve been ignoring Harry’s owls?”

“Yup!” A muffled answer came from under the cloak. 

Teddy shook his head in disbelief even though he was quite impressed. “Did you get any Howlers yet?”

“Two!”

Teddy laughed. They reached the tapestry that opens up to the Dungeons, he quickly changed his eyes and hair color to black. He even changed his old prefect badge pin to green and stole some Slytherin robes. As he finished changing into his new identity, James pulled out dung bombs from the box and started heading down the end of the corridor. 

After spreading the bombs in each corridor and bathroom, Teddy taught James how to set a timer to make them all go off at a certain time. They were set to go off at seven-thirty in the morning. 

The next morning during breakfast, Teddy saw James up and about eating on the Gryffindor table, grinning ear to ear. It was still very early, and he went and sat down at the Hufflepuff table, making himself some toast, waiting for their hard work to pay off. As the Slytherins started to walk into the hall, laughter arose, they all had brown ash on their robes, hair messed up, and worst of all carried a putrid odor. James was silently laughing across the hall, as the Slytherins passed them to settle down at their tables. Teddy assumed Filch was already cleaning up their mess because they were just informed Potions class had been canceled for this morning because someone had put dung bombs in the classroom too. He spent the rest of the morning in the library, revising as his NEWTs exams were coming up. The next week was given off to revise, and the two weeks following that was the testing period. 

He spent the next week in the library, way past curfew, using his head boy privilege until Madam Pince would kick him out. That weekend was the Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw quidditch match and he missed the part in Gryffindor tower for their victory, because he was too busy studying. Once exam week one started he found himself a little less stressed because he had completed all the possible revising. Defense Against Dark Arts was as easy as it could be, especially the practical exam. He gave all the credit to Harry and the years he spent with him learning about boggarts, and Patronus charms, and more. Transfiguration he assumed he should get at least Exceeds Expectation. Charms and Potions were also both fairly easy. Although he didn’t like Potions too much, it was a necessary subject for Auror training. He wanted to be an Auror just like his mother. 

The next week he had Herbology, which was easiest of them all, and Muggle Studies. He assumed he passed although there were many confusing things such as topics related to electricity and power which he still didn't understand. He had dropped Astronomy, Divination, and Care of Magical Creatures after his OWLs and still he had more revising to do than any other year. 

“I failed! All of them! I think I’m going to drop out!” Molly was pacing in the Gryffindor common room the night after their last finals. 

“You're fine,” Dominique yawned, lying down on the couch. 

“My dad will literally disown me if I get less than ten OWLs!”

“Hah! That’s something Uncle Percy would do. You can move in with us, my dad only got three OWLs, so I’m chilling. The bar’s really low,” Freddy said lying on the other sofa, his hands behind his head. 

“How’d your NEWTs go, Teddy?”

“Alright. Just have to wait for the results to come.”

They were all hanging out in the common room, too hot to go outside. Dominique insisted on throwing an end-of-the-year party, but in the end, she was just looking for an excuse to get drunk. So she ended up planning everything. Victoire handles the Ravenclaw invites, Molly does Hufflepuff, and Dom does Gryffindor. Teddy was in charge of the booze, being the only one of-age. Roxanne on food, and Freddy on music. 

“What about us?” James finally spoke up.

Louis also stopped messing around with his Pygmy Puff, “Yeah!” 

Teddy looked at them and then to Dominique with his eyebrows raised. The two boys had been so quiet, they had forgotten they were even sitting with them.

“Sorry, have to be fourteen and older,” Roxanne said, smirking. 

“You only made that rule up because you just turned fourteen!” James snapped at her.

“Calm down guys!” Dominique said, waving her hands to make peace. In the end, they decided they would put a charm on the drinks, so you must be fourteen or older to drink it, otherwise, it turns into plain water. 

***

That Thursday he decided to text Mary Macdonald after delaying it as much as possible. He finally got Freddy to tell him how to use his phone on grounds, after hours of threatening and bribing. Turns out, it was a simple protego and invisibility charm you have to conjure. It creates a bubble around you and the electronic device, which protects it from getting toast, and allows the device to work on cellular data. 

_ Hey Mary it’s Teddy. Hope you're doing okay, I just finished my final exams and was wondering if the coffee catch-up still holds? I’m free this weekend, we could meet up back at the same place if you want. Let me know!  _

He didn’t know if this sounded too casual or not, but it’s not like it was a letter. He sent it and her reply came just forty minutes after.

*new message now*  **Mary Macdonald:** Hello Teddy. I’d love to meet up this weekend but how does butterbeer sound instead of coffee? Three Broomsticks instead of the coffee shop in Edinburgh? It’ll be much closer for you, and I haven’t been there in years.

*new message now*  **Mary Macdonald:** Bring Victoire too! I look forward to hearing about these final exams.

So he sent back a quick reply agreeing to all her questions. Three Broomsticks did sound a bit less awkward than a muggle coffee shop. He found Victoire in the Great Hall eating porridge and tea for breakfast. She was very supportive and agreed to accompany him to Hogsmede on Saturday. 

***

He was staring at his reflection through a mirror in his dorm. He looked at his gentle blue curls and sides shaved very thin, his cartilage piercing on his left ear that he got as an impulsive decision last year. Now that he was thinking about it, he wanted another one. His nails were painted black and he chose to go with light brown eyes.

They, Teddy and Victoire were standing at the entrance of the Three Broomsticks, Teddy had borrowed James’s cloak to get through the passage and cellar. He was too busy trying to come up with a way to prank a first-year Slytherin, Lorenzo Nott. 

Mary Macdonald was already sitting at one of the tables in the middle, talking to Madam Rosmerta as she brought three butterbeers to the table, and then she saw Teddy walk in, and slightly waved. Victoire and Teddy sat on one side and she sat on the opposite. Their conversation started off with small talk, ‘how are you?’, and how the NEWTs went and whatnot. 

“What about your plans for after?” She asked after Victoire finished talking about the party her sister had been crazy about. Mary laughed at that and told them how much she used to party during her years at Hogwarts. 

“I’d been thinking about Auror training. My mum was an Auror too,” he replied trying to drive the conversation to the reason they had met up in the first place. “What do you do?”

She gave him a small smile, “A muggle job, been doing it for years and I plan on retiring soon.”

“Hm, have you always worked at a muggle job?” He asked, genuinely interested. 

“Well, after Hogwarts I joined the Order. My old school friends, including your dad, would go on missions and whatnot. It was basically my job. Then, well, the war ended, in the end, it was only me and your dad. We both extracted ourselves far away from the wizarding community. I got an ordinary muggle job, had children of my own years later. In fact, I only got back in contact with the Wizarding World when my kids went to Hogwarts. They left a couple of years ago. After that, the occasional Daily Profits were really the only thing allowing me to know what had been going on.”

“I found some old photographs and postcards from you at my dad’s old London flat. Just recently got the keys to that, and I actually visited it with my godfather, Harry. You might know him.”

She laughed at this, but it wasn’t rude. “The real question is who doesn’t know Harry Potter. But besides what I’ve read in the newspapers, I haven’t seen Harry in thirty-five years, since 1981,” she lost the smile on her face. “I knew he grew up with his aunt and uncle. I always told your dad, I wouldn’t have minded raising him, but he would constantly remind me of Lily and James, and I doubt I’d be able to handle that.” 

They continued talking about the First Wizarding War, completely losing track of time. He had promised her to send a small box of photographs and postcards he found in the London flat. He knew it would be better off with her than if he kept them. 

“Yeah! We went camping in Cornwall too, during summer. It was mostly cousins,” Victoire explained as Mary told them about the many things her and the Marauders did during Hogwarts. 

“So how many cousins are there?”

Victoire laughed, “That’s a tough question...Let’s see. I have two siblings, and there's Molly, Lucy, Freddy, Roxi…” She continued counting with her fingers, “...Hugo, Rose, Al, James, and Lily, so about twelve of us altogether.”

“James and Lily?” Mary asked, confused. 

“Yeah Harry’s kids. James Sirius, he’s the oldest, in his first year right now. Then there’s Lily Luna, youngest, she’s about eight. And Albus Severus, middle child, he’ll come to Hogwarts next yea--.” Before Teddy could finish his sentence he was cut off.

“Wait! Did you say, Severus? Like Snape Severus?” Her brown eyes were wide open just like her mouth. 

“Er--yeah…” So Teddy decided to explain the whole story of Severus Snape, and how he used to be a death eater, which she already knew. How he was a spy for Dumbledore, and how he died, and the story that he had heard from Harry hundreds of times. 

“Wow. So he was a lowkey good guy.” They all laughed at that, and she told them all the silly pranks the Marauders had pulled on Severus Snape. Soon they got past the conversation of Sirius and Remus, and she knew they had dated, but didn’t know they reconnected after he broke out. 

“They had asked me, Remus and Sirius if I wanted to join the Order when they were reforming. I said no. I couldn’t go back and watch them all, die. Now I regret it...It was so selfish of me.” He started talking about Remus and Tonks and the Second Wizarding War. She told him about the werewolf attack on the Tonks family, and how his dad had protected them from getting hurt back in 1980. 

“Your dad would have liked your hair, but he would have so made fun of your poshness,” she laughed. 

“I’m actually a Metamorphmagus,” he explained. 

She smiled, “I figured that out when I saw you at that restaurant.”

Victoire nudged his ribs with her elbow, “Told you someone could have easily seen, and someone did.”

Mary explained how the blue hair did catch her sight at first but when she looked closer she saw the resemblance of Remus in him, and that’s what made her stare. 

“I probably looked like some old creep,” she laughed. The conversation soon came back to Hogwarts lessons and the teachers currently teaching. She obviously knew Professor Binns and Professor McGonagall. 

“What about you, have you any thought about what you want to do after Hogwarts?” She asked Victoire. 

“A healer, actually. I’ve been taking Madam Pompfreys’s healing lessons, and I guess it’s always something I’ve wanted to do.”

Mary smiled at this, “That’s nice. My best friend, she was a healer too, Marlene Mckinnon. You might know her,” She looked at Teddy, and he gave a nod. “A bloody good one too, wanted to work on Lycanthropy, after she found out about Remus and her brother was bitten.”

“She, she died didn’t she?” Teddy asked lightly, trying to sound sympathetic.

“Death Eaters wiped out her entire family, it was terrible, but only the beginning. I was broken after that, and then Lily and James. Anyways, my daughter named her after Marlene,” she started talking a little bit about her kids, who had kids of their own by now. Mary looked so young, he never realized she was in her mid-fifties. 

“Teddy?” A puzzled voice came from behind him, as he was talking with Mary about the muggle band, One Direction, and their last song which came out earlier that year. Teddy turned around, shocked to see a bespeckled man, wearing dark blue robes. 

“Harry?” Teddy asked, just as shocked. 


End file.
